Monday, October 31, 2011

Dog credited with saving man during pit bull mauling

KENTUCKY -- A Bullitt County man remains in serious but stable condition at University of Louisville Hospital after being attacked by [his daughter's] pit bull over the weekend.

Besides his dog, Shadow, a motion sensor may have also saved Bill Grider's life. The sensor was a gift he gave to his neighbors, and now it's giving him a second chance at life.

According to one officer, the attack was the worst he'd ever seen

"Shadow is a hero," said Debbie Bradley, who has known Shadow for over a decade.

Bradley described her as a loyal and loving dog, so Shadow's act of heroism doesn't surprise her.

"Shadow's part of the family around here," she said.

"For her to go off and set my beeper off, the dog seen the pit bull attack Bill and couldn't get our attention, that was the way she did it."

Bradley said she had just unplugged her vacuum cleaner when she heard the beeping sound her motion sensor emits when activated. Paul Renfrow, ran across the yard to find Grider in the fetal position and being attacked by the pit bull.

Bill Grider was trying to feed his daughter's pit bull

Renfrow said he threw the dog off Grider and then shot and killed it after the pit bull lunged at him.

"I could see all the meat hanging off his arms and blood pouring out of his neck, so I reached down and grabbed the dog by its mouth and flipped him back away from Bill," Renfrow said of the attack.

Authorities said the dog had nipped Grider before, but they don't know what provoked it to maul him Saturday evening.

 "One of the officers who was at the scene says it was the worst dog attack he's ever seen," said Sgt. Mike Murdoch of the Bullitt County Sheriff's Department.

 Murdoch said there will be no further investigation on the attack.

Now Shadow sits and waits for Grider to come home, bringing a whole new meaning to the term "man's best friend."

Shadow waits her her owner to come home

"It was God's hand, I believe," Bradley said. "Everything happened like it was supposed to happen."

Grider's wife told WLKY that she's so upset that she couldn't even begin to talk about what happened to her husband.

Grider was taking care of his daughter's property and dogs because authorities said she is in jail for manufacturing methamphetamine in that house.

(WLKY - Oct 31, 2011)